Cinematical Movie Club Alert: Before 'Morning Glory,' There was 'Network'

In next week's 'Morning Glory,' Rachel McAdams plays a young professional named Becky Fuller, a TV producer who stumbles into a gig at a last-place morning news show. In an attempt to boost ratings, she brings back a legendary TV anchor (Harrison Ford), and teams him up with a long-time morning show name (Diane Keaton). Naturally, he doesn't like what constitutes news -- the celebrity gossip and fluff pieces -- and the duo constantly bicker. The ratings go down, Becky becomes another frazzled professional on the big screen and she has to figure out a way to make it all work out in the end, or wait for the happy Hollywood ending to descend.

But long before Becky struggled with ratings, their was the winner of four Academy Awards (and six further nominations), Sidney Lumet's 'Network.'

Plot
This '70s satire focuses on a news anchor about to be phased out for skewing "old," who decides to announce to the world -- on air before he goes -- that he will kill himself during his final broadcast. Network heads want to can him then and there, but an ambitious exec (Dunaway) turns it all into a special event.

Trivia

- This is the film that offered one of Hollywood's greatest movie lines: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"

- Beatrice Straight won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress -- for one of the shortest performances in Oscar history.

- The only music in the film comes from themes and commercials on the network -- there's no score or soundtrack.

- James Stewart turned down a chance to be in the film due to its strong language.

- Peter Finch was the first actor to receive an Oscar posthumously -- the next, you might remember -- was Heath Ledger.